Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Five members of the Honduran National Police guarded the entrance of the court in Santa Barbara, Honduras. A crowd stood in front of them, chanting: “Our land is not for sale! It should be taken care of and defended!” A late afternoon rain started to fall but the crowd didn't disperse, because the moment they’d been waiting for all day had arrived. The gates opened and Berta Caceres emerged to let them know the verdict.Witness for Peace has previously written about the detention of Berta Caceres, coordinator of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). On May 24th, Berta was detained by the Honduran military, after a week of traveling and speaking out against the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the communities of Rio Blanco. She was held overnight and subsequently granted a conditional release, on the basis that she report to the court in Esperanza every week and she not leave the country under any circumstances. Her hearing was scheduled for June 13th at the Santa Barbara court.

Military presence in the center square in Santa Barbara on the day of Berta Caceres's trial.Photo by Witness for Peace Nicaragua/Honduras team

As members of the Witness for Peace Nicaragua/Honduras team, we headed to the court that morning. We observed a truck full of members of the Honduran army pulling up to the center square, which is two blocks away from the location of both the court hearing and the rally in support of Berta. Various officers, armed and wearing fatigues, were stationed on the side of the square closest to the rally. Additionally, about 15 members of the National Police were stationed at various points along the block where the activity was taking place. Upon our arrival to the entrance of the court, we witnessed a crowd upwards of 70 people. Members of the crowd led spontaneous chants. One by one, representatives of indigenous organizations, campesino cooperatives and organizations, and women´s organizations spoke up. They called for the charges against Berta to be dropped and her full rights as a citizen be restored. They condemned those companies across Honduras that are taking advantage of land and rivers to develop mining projects, hydroelectric dams, and large-scale agriculture, without the consent of the local communities. They further condemned the militarization, intimidation, and violent repression against those who are organizing and defending their communities against members of the Honduran police, Honduran military, and private security forces.Witness for Peace met Santos Dominguez, a resident of La Union, who spoke at the rally. She explained that since April 1st, members of her community and the nearby communities in the Rio Blanco region have been occupying a section of the local highway to protest the construction of the hydroelectric dam by the Chinese company Sinohydro – the same project Berta Caceres had been speaking up about in the week before she was detained. Santos told us that the company consulted only with a handful of community members before initiating the project – one person from La Union, and between one to three other people from each of the nearby communities. These opinions were not representative of the communities on the whole, she said. She spoke of a recent day when 30 police officers arrived at the location where the highway was occupied, trying to intimidate community members. She added that on five separate accounts, community members had been forcibly removed from the location. “They look at us as if we were nothing. They don’t respect us,” she said.Santos, along with many others who are defending their community and their right to protect its natural resources, showed up on the day of the hearing to stand in solidarity with Berta. After a day outside under the hot sun, the crowd heard the verdict. The judge rejected the evidence presented by the accusing party, and as such the restrictive measures on Berta were lifted. She is no longer required to conduct weekly check-ins and is now permitted to leave the country. The case remains open for the time being. The result fell short of what her attorneys believe she deserved: the charges completely dropped and her rights fully restored. However, they qualified it as a victory.

Berta Caceres speaks to reporters after announcing the verdict.Photo by Witness for Peace Nicaragua/Honduras team

In the case of Berta, a victory has been won against the alliance between large-scale business interests and elements of the Honduran security forces who seek to intimidate and violently repress human rights defenders. Yet the fight is long from over; Berta and other human rights defenders remain vulnerable. In conversations we had throughout the day with various members of communities that are being militarized, the Witness for Peace team heard strong support for U.S. campaignsseeking to end U.S. funding for Honduran security forces. We call on all U.S. citizens who want to stand in solidarity with Hondurans facing extreme repression, to join in this fight.________________________________________________________

No comments:

Post a Comment

Keep in touch with Witness for Peace

To stay up to date with Witness for Peace campaigns through email, please sign up for our online activist network.

Welcome to the Witness for Peace Blog!

This is your online resource for news, analysis, and action on U.S. foreign policy and corporate practice. You will also find stories of struggle and hope from our partners throughout Latin America.

Witness for Peace is a politically independent grassroots organization committed to nonviolence and led by faith and conscience. Witness for Peace's mission is to support peace, justice, and sustainable economies by changing the policies and practices which contribute to poverty and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean.